Christian Ditter: How to be Single taught me about women

Christian Ditter says working with so many great actresses on his comedy film 'How to be Single' taught him a lot about women

Christian Ditter says his new film 'How to be Single' taught him a lot about the "mystery" of women.

The director felt worked with an all-star female cast for the movie which included Rebel Wilson, Dakota Johnson, Leslie Mann and Alison Brie and although his family is mainly made up of ladies he learnt a lot more about the fairer sex on set.

Speaking at the UK premiere of the comedy at the Vue Cinema in London's Leicester Square, he told BANG Showbiz: "For myself, I have a mum and a sister, and a wife and two daughters but it is always still a mystery, but that is a great thing about making films with female characters that you always find out a little bit more.

"The women in this movie are all incredibly talented actresses and comedy geniuses. So having them on set it was a strange mix of me encouraging them to go off the rails a little bit. Then also bringing them back onto the rails, which wasn't always easy because they were having so much fun."

Ditter undertook extensive research including quizzing the cast to ensure he produced an honest portrayal of contemporary relationships and avoided mocking the single life.

He said: "'How to be Single' is a snapshot of today's generation, what it means to them to be single, and all the fun and the challenges and the surprises that come with it.

"Our aim was to make a film that was real for this generation and I researched everybody involved, the screenwriters but also the actresses. I would always ask them, 'Does this feel real to you?' If not real then I wanted to stay away from clichés and turn it into a joke.

"So I think it does feel very real to an American audience and for me as a European, people are similar all over the world."

The 38-year-old filmmaker - whose previous work includes 'Love, Rosie' - wishes there had been a movie like 'How to be Single' around when he was a bachelor to alleviate his fears.

He mused: "When I was making this film, I thought, 'Why didn't anybody show me this movie when I was single?' Because I would have felt so much better about myself "